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“King’s Speech” crowned big winner at Oscars

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – “The King’s Speech” won four Oscars including best film on Sunday during Hollywood’s biggest night when many front-runners claimed glory including Colin Firth and Natalie Portman for best actor and actress.

The world’s top film honors from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences came packed with a lot of comedy onstage from show hosts Anne Hathaway and James Franco but the attention, as always, was on awards and winners.

Portman was named best actress for her role as a young ballerina who grows into womanhood in “Black Swan.” She wiped tears from her eyes onstage collecting her Oscar as she thanked her family, co-stars and director Darren Aronofsky.

“This is insane and I truly, sincerely wish the prize was to get to work with my fellow nominees,” she said.

Firth won best actor for playing stammering British King George VI in “The King’s Speech,” in which the monarch must overcome his speech impediment to lead his country.

“I have a feeling my career just peaked,” Firth joked.

When Tom Hooper was named best director, he thanked his mom for being first to suggest he make “The King’s Speech.” “The moral of the story is, listen to your mother,” Hooper said.

Melissa Leo and Christian Bale, playing a tough-minded mom and her drug-addicted son in boxing movie “The Fighter,” won supporting actress and actor, while “King’s Speech” writer David Seidler” won for best adapted screenplay and Aaron Sorkin with “The Social Network” earned best original screenplay.

Franco and Hathaway, the first man and woman team to host the Oscars, got the show off to a comic start and continued to make audiences laugh. While they provided a youthful edge to the program — Hathaway, 28, was the youngest host ever — many of the show’s sequences harkened back to Hollywood’s history.

And top actresses dazzled on the red carpet with bright and colorful fashion choices, a turnaround from more muted styles of recent years that reflected the world’s economic woes.